Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Big news: tomorrow will mark the 13th anniversary of the day the Bionic Man and I were married! How about that? So, in keeping with my promise to share 12 Days of Embarrassing Moments, it seems only fitting that I should share one from my wedding day, right?

Don't worry, this is a family friendly blog! This embarrassing moment happened before the ceremony.

Child Bride

I admit, I was a fairly young bride. I was just three-and-a-half months shy of my 22nd birthday when the Bionic Man and I got married. In other words, I was 21.

The morning of my wedding day, I went to the neighborhood beauty salon to have my hair styled by Cindy, who had been cutting my hair since I was a little tyke. Cindy put my hair in rollers and sent me to sit under the hair dryer for a while, as she put curlers in another lady's hair and gave that lady's husband a haircut. The lady was under the dryer herself, and her husband had plopped down to wait in a nearby chair with the Reader's Digest when Cindy began styling my hair into a wedding-worthy updo.

As the elaborate hairstyle took shape, the older gentleman put down his Reader's Digest and watched Cindy work for a few moments. Then he smiled congenially and asked, "Well, what are you gettin' all gussied up for, little lady?"

"Ruthie is getting married, today," Cindy answered for me.

"Married!" the man hooted, slapping his Reader's Digest against his knee. "Married? Why, you can't be more'n twelve years old!"

I blushed furiously while Cindy reassured her customer that I was old enough to get married. I was horrified to think that I'd been mistaken for a pre-teen on my wedding day.

Looking back, though, can you blame the guy? It's just a good thing he didn't have a chance to see my fifteen-year-old groom.

The Quote that Really Inspires Me:

"You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter. "What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. "If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Happiness, Your Heritage"